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CFSB Winter Sports Program – Johnny Ho

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Click here to learn more about our Winter Sports Performance Program I joined CrossFit South Bend’s sports performance program my freshman year. I had been playing rugby through-out middle school and when I got to High school I was introduced to it through Coach Carl Case a Penn Rugby Coach and CrossFit South Bend coach/owner. All I wanted was to better myself as an athlete on the field. What made the CrossFit South Bend Program the best is that they really focused on me as an individual athlete. The level of focus each coach puts into an athlete is why I was able to get faster, stronger, and smarter. I instantly found myself wanting to workout there more and gained the ambition to perform better, the coaches and the way the program was set up played a huge role in the comfort and will to keep going. The program led me to excel in my sports. Before I knew it I was put into varsity level situations at a young age and I was able to keep up due to the training. Playing rugby and football at a varsity level was no easy task, but I felt more than prepared because of the extra work that I had put in and the extra time the CrossFit South Bend coaches invested in me. Over time I learned to be a more dynamic athlete which helped me prove myself in practice and succeed in games. I was able to play multiple positions with ease rather than just one core position. What makes the program so great and what makes it one of my favorite things to do, is the energy in the gym, everyone there wants to get better for themselves and their teammates, the energy grows while being around friends and coaches who all want the same end goal. To get better.  

CrossFit Open 2020 Details

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It's that time of year! Actually It's a completely different time of year for the CrossFit Open! Now that the CrossFit Open has changed to mid October, we are making a few changes to it as well. Here are a few highlights first, then you can scroll down to the full detailed post! What is the CrossFit Open? During this five-week, five-workout competition, workouts are released online each Thursday, and athletes have until the following Monday to submit their scores. We will be hosting the workout on Saturday's at the gym. What is different this year?
  • Schedule
The Open will be held on a Saturday morning, instead of a Friday night here at the gym.
  • Teams and Points
No Teams this year! We are going to be getting in on Saturday, doing the wod, and having a good time doing it. No points either!
  • Judging
The only people in need of judging are people who have officially signed up for the Open. If you cannot make it on Saturday to get judged, it's your responsibility to watch the standards, understand the setup you need, and video yourself during an open gym time. You'll then submit it online to get judged.
  • Saturday workout options
We will have the Open Rx'd / Scaled options on the board for the open.  We will also have, depending on the workout, a few different modified variations you can perform for the best experience for you. Now lets get down to the nitty gritty of the full details.

1. Open Wod Release Dates

To the best of our knowledge, here is the upcoming schedule for the CrossFit Open Workouts RELEASE Wod 1: October 10th Wod 2: October 17th Wod 3: October 24th Wod 4: October 31st Wod 5: November 7th This means that the workout will be held at CrossFit South Bend on the following Saturday after each of these Thursday release dates.

2. Saturday schedule and heats

If you come in on Saturday, you are at the mercy of the Open Workout schedule. Arrive at 8:55am Wod briefing begins at 9:05am Release to prep and warm up 9:20 First Heat Begins 9:40 After that, we will have consecutive heats running end to end, with 5-10 minute buffers between throughout the entire morning, ending at Noon. The heat registration will be first come first serve, how many people we can fit into a heat depend on equipment and space usage.

3. Getting validated if you've registered

You may come in to any of the schedule heats on Saturday morning where there will only be 1-3 registered athletes allowed in each heat - this amount is depending on judge availability. If you cannot make it into a Saturday, you may use any scheduled open gym time to perform your workout, video the workout, and submit it online. This also goes for anyone who wishes to "retest" a workout - this applies to people who have registered online - you must video your attempt, and submit it online to be viewed by an online judge. CFSB Open gym schedule - https://crossfitsouthbend.com/schedule/

4. Notes/FAQ

What if I don't know how to perform a movement? The Saturday Open wods are not a time to learn an entirely movement on the spot. These are a test style format, don't be intimidated by  that - simply choose the best modified workout for you that we will provide you with on the board! Is there a fee to perform the workouts on Saturday? Nope! come in and have fun How do I register? Head here! https://open.crossfit.com Be sure to select CrossFit South Bend as your affiliate What are the rules of the open? If you intend on registering, read the open competition rulebook here https://games.crossfit.com/rules/open What are the movement standards for each workout?  You are responsible for reading the workout description and understanding what is required of you before beginning the workout. What if I cannot do the workout on a Saturday? If you have registered for the Open and wish to be validated on any other time other than Saturday it is your responsibility to come in during an Open gym time (your registration will count as an open gym for the duration of the open), video your attempt, and submit it online. If you have not registered for the Open, you must get an open Gym Membership through the duration of the open. What if I don't have an Open Gym Membership?  Your registration will count as your Open Gym fee through the duration of the open, after the open you can choose whether or not to continue your  Open Gym membership. If you haven't registered for the open and wish to perform workouts off to the side - you must get an open gym membership which is $20/month. You may contact amy@crossfitsouthbend.com to get one of these. What are the rules of open gym?  Class takes priority, you must work around the class to use equipment and space. Speak to a coach to get the best possible outcome, if the Open workout takes an invasive amount of equipment and space you may have to wait to perform your workout.  

Using Your Fitness on Vacation

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Using Your Fitness on Vacation  For a lot of us fitness has become an integral part of our lives, and we have worked really hard to get where we are today. Because of this, a question we frequently get asked is: “What should I do when I am on vacation?”   There are a number of different options available. First, if you are staying at a hotel/resort you can scout out what the gym situation looks like. Normally you aren’t going to have access to barbells, but you will have dumbbells. Just about all barbell movements can also be done using dumbbells so you are in luck there.   Another option is to pack a few items in your gym bag that have some versatility to them. Now, I am not suggesting you pack an entire gym to take with. However, things like resistance bands and hip circles/minibands, jump ropes or perhaps a kettlebell if you are driving will all work. All of these items will give you a tone of movement options.   Doing body weight exercise is also a great option. There are a number of different variations of squats, push ups, lunges, step ups, pull ups, sit ups, burpees, etc. Take this time to explore some new movements, planes of motion, ranges of motion and take a break from the weights.   Also, a great option is to explore physical activities your destination has to offer; go hiking, try to learn how to surf/paddle board, go kayaking, go for a swim in the pool or ocean. Put your fitness to use, learn new things and explore your destination even more.    Need some ideas for workout? DM us on our Instagram Page Here, and we will send you our Training on the Road Guide.   Lastly and most importantly, IT IS OK NOT TO WORK OUT ON YOUR VACATION. That’s right. I said it. We don’t get to vacation nearly as much as we would like to. When you’re on vacation it is to relax, get away and spend time with family and friends. If you truly enjoy working out, then go do it.   However, don’t feel as though it’s something you have to do. If you wake up that day and aren’t feeling it then don’t stress about it, don’t look down on yourself or feel like you’re going to lose your #gainz in the week or so you are on vacation. My wife and I had great intentions of working out when we went on our honeymoon; the resort even had a nice Crossfit style gym. The itch or the want to work out was never strong enough for us to actually make our way to the gym. We did walk the resort, the beach, went on an excursion and snorkeled, and frequently lifted drinks to our mouths ?. It’s your vacation; make what you want out of it.   

Herculean Meals at CFSB!

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CrossFit South Bend will now be a distributor or Herculean Meals!

We have a lot of busy clients at CFSB, and having a convenient delicious meals on hand when our members are in a pinch can make the difference! For our first launch of Herculean meals we will be taking preorders at 20% off one time only! Click here to order THESE ARE FOR IN HOUSE PICKUP ONLY! Starting Today and ending by Midnight on Thursday the 15th You don’t have to be a member to order these, just click the button below and these meals are already discounted down for our Preorder! From then on we will be carrying Herculean meals on hand at the gym whenever you need them •Convenience - Frozen at the time of preparation, each meal is individually packaged and can be heated up in as little as 3 to 4 minutes. •Taste - Inspired from local and international cuisine, Herculean provides variety for any taste, all which have flavor that is cravable. •Curated - Herculean's slogan, meaning we worked out the science to offer the best macros for any diet plan. •Frozen - Herculean freezes the meals so they don’t add any preservatives and the food stays good for up to a year. Click here to order

It’s not always about weight loss – Leigh’s Story

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When Leigh and I met for her first goal meeting she hopped on the InBody scanner and had a nearly perfect scan. So how can you improve if you don’t have weight to lose? Well, sometimes there’s more to body composition than weight. Leigh managed to increase her muscle mass by nearly 2lbs and increase her lose nearly 2% body fat all while staying at the same weight. Furthermore, she is much more focused on what she can do in the gym and her strength, rather than focusing on looks. The other day someone told her they thought she looked strong, and it made her really happy. “I really appreciate that you guys do these goal meetings and InBody scans because it allows us to objectively see our progress over time.” Congrats on all your progress Leigh! We’re super proud of you!  

Hannah’s Story – Brain Surgery and Breaking Records

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"I came to Crossfit South Bend’s Sports Performance Program after my freshman season of volleyball. I was looking for some sort of off season conditioning to stay in shape. At first I was hesitant about the Sports Performance Program. It was really intimidating being the one of the only females in the class with a bunch of guys. However, as I got more familiar with the program and started to see results in my performance I became a lot more confident in my athletic ability and in my life in general. After my sophomore season of club volleyball I had to have shoulder surgery, and was not able to play my junior year. Following that I decided to focus on throwing. I had thrown for track and field since my freshman year but volleyball had been my primary sport. As I recovered and regained my strength I started to see huge results. There seemed to be a direct correlation with the progress I was making in the Sports Performance Program and the progress I was seeing in my throwing. I started to hear from college coaches and the dream I had of being a college athlete started to seem more and more realistic. Prior to coming to the Sports Performance Program I did not ever think being a Division 1 athlete was possible. However, the Sports Performance Program gave me the athletic capability and the skills I needed. In addition to the increase in strength, speed and overall athleticism the program provided there were also countless other things I learned such as, how to fuel my body correctly for a good performance, how to set both short and long term goals, how to properly recover etc. that were all tools that greatly contributed to my success as an athlete. As the recruiting process picked up and I was talking to coaches they were continually impressed with my offseason training and all the little things I had implemented into my training thanks to what I had learned through the Sports Performance Program. I signed with the University of Dayton in October of my Senior year and I could not have done that without the Sports Performance Program. Even after I signed with UD Carl and everyone in the Sports Performance Program continued to be a huge help. I had to have a unexpected brain surgery in December of my senior year going into what was looking like it would be a huge senior season, and frankly at the time it seemed like the worst timing possible. A little less than four weeks after my surgery I was able to come back to the Sports Performance Program and while I was not able to do a lot of the normal training Carl worked with me and what the doctors were allowing me do in order regain my strength, balance and confidence going into my last high school season. I opened up the season with a huge throw breaking the school discus record by over ten feet which again would not have been possible without the skills I obtained through the Sports Performance Program. The Sports Performance Program is a lot more than just offseason training, it is an opportunity to train with like minded individuals and build friendships with other athletes from different schools and different sports all working to be the best athletes they can be. Training with these like minded individuals changes your mindset and pushes you to do your best everyday in your training. I’m really going to miss the training environment and the people I’ve met through the Sports Performance Program! There is no way I would be where I am today without it." Interested in learning more? Check out the Sports Performance Camp here 
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How to achieve food freedom with nutrition coaching

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In this video we talk about how a nutrition coach can help you achieve food freedom. What's food freedom? Where you are in control of food, not the other way around. When you have food freedom, -You're no longer searching for the next fix of sugar. -You no longer feel compelled to have unhealthy foods just because others are having them. -You get to choose which foods are worth it to you and which foods are not. How can nutrition coaching help you achieve food freedom? Through things like -A special occasion calendar: this helps you figure out when it's appropriate to have chocolate chip cookies (for example). Grandma's homemade cookies at Thanksgiving are appropriate while scarfing down a bag of Chips-a-hoy on Tuesday evening because you're stressed from work is not. -A special foods list-some foods are really worth having and others aren't. An artisanal pizza that you're enjoying while traveling to Italy is incredibly different from a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. If you're going to have off plan food it's important to make sure it's worth it and good quality. -Food elimination and reintroduction : during our program we cut out commonly problematic foods like sugar, wine, dark chocolate, etc. However, we then reintroduce them after a period of time (typically 30 days) to see how you do them. This allows you to create your own food freedom around foods that are worth it and foods that aren't. Interested in giving nutrition coaching a try? You can set up a free 30min meeting with CFSB Nutrition head coach Robby Gustin with the link below. https://crossfitsouthbend.as.me/initialnutritionconsultation
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What do CFSB Coaches Eat?-Erin’s Story

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In this interview we sit down with Coach Erin to talk about what she eats on a regular basis. For those of you who don't know Coach Erin, she: -is a mom of 2 -is a long time CrossFitter -is a huge fan of dogs -recently completed her first Whole30. In this video Erin tells us: -What eating was like for her growing up -Her personal evolution when it comes to healthy eating -What she currently eats on a daily basis with concrete examples -What she's learned about healthy eating given all the different commitments in her life -What her favorite off-plan foods are -Her favorite special occasions to eat off-plan food.
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Where should you get your protein from?

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In this video we talk about where you should get your protein from.
 
There are three main sources that we discuss. Check out the video for all details.
 
Animal Protein
-Meat: Beef, Pork, Lamb
-Poultry: Chicken, Turkey, Duck
-Seafood: Salmon,Tuna, Scallops, etc.
 
Plant Foods
-Legumes: Beans, Peas, Lentils
-Certain Vegetables and Fruits
 
Isolates and Shakes
-Whey and Casein
-Pea, Soy, Etc.
-Beef and Egg
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How to Weigh and Measure Your Food

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In this video we give a practical demonstration of how to weigh and measure your food, with our guest star Lila the puppy. Do you need to weigh and measure your food to be healthy? Definitely not. As we've said in many other videos, health can be achieved by focusing on food quality and adequate micronutrients (zinc, magnesium, Vitamins C, D, B12, etc.) However, weighing and measuring your food can be useful for things like getting lean, gaining size and strength, and for athletic performance. Also, while weighing and measuring your food isn't strictly speaking necessary for health, there are some cool things you can find out that directly relate to your health like how much fiber, sugar, carbs, protein, and fat you're consuming on a daily basis. It can also tell you whether you are over-eating or under-eating relative to your goals. What do you need to weigh and measure your food? Two things: -A food scale (pretty much any food scale will do) -An app for like MyFitness Pal to enter the weights in (there are other apps as well) How do you weigh and measure your food? For most foods there are three steps. -Step 1: Put raw food that you want to measure on top of the scale (usually on top of parchment paper, aluminum foil, a plate, etc. so the food isn't directly on the scale for safe food prep) -Step 2: Check the number on the scale (this could be in grams or ounces, grams are usually more precise) -Step 3: Enter that number in the food amount section of your calorie counting app like MyFitnessPal. Repeat these steps for all foods. Do you need to weigh and measure foods for the rest of your life? Absolutely not. But taking a 3-4 week period to get data on your most common 80-90% of meals can be a super useful exercise. ______________________________________________________________________ Transcript Robby here from CFSB Nutrition and Crossfit South Bend. Today, I'm here with Lilah, our new addition to the family. She wanted to do a video on weighing and measuring food, so I'm going to do that for her. But I'm going to put her down for now because she'll want to be held for too long. So she'll be wondering around while we're doing the video. Say "hi" Lilah. Cool. Alright. Let's get to it. So people have been asking me for a video on how to actually, practically weigh and measure your food. So let's talk about how to do this. So the first thing we're going to start with is protein, and then we'll move onto the vegetables. Which I've already pre-prepared. So it might be surprising that I'd start with protein you actually don't need to weigh or measure, but I mention this because this is actually going to make things a lot easier for you. This is one pound of ground pork, just split up, on a sheet pan with parchment paper. I have half of this for breakfast and half of this for lunch. I don't need to weigh and measure it because it's already measured as one pound. If I were going to have quarters, I could just easily enter it as quarters. So, that's a really easy way where you don't actually need to put it on the scale and measure it. So that's ready to go. Put it in the oven. On here, on your My Fitness Pal what you would do is, so I've already preloaded this so you guys didn't have to watch me search for it. I'd click my all fresh natural ground pork, and my serving size is one ounce and I have eight ounces of it. If you measured it out on a scale, that would be 227 grams, but again, if you know it's a one pound brick, you don't need to weigh and measure it out. Okay. So. That was protein that was pretty easy to know how to split up. What would you do about a chicken breast? So, let me show you here with this. So I've got my scale over here that you can come around and see, and you'll notice is says 738 on it right now. I'm going to zero that out. And then, normally I would just use my hands to do this, but since I'm going to be handling vegetables, and I don't wanna have to have you guys watch me wash my hands. I'm just going to put this on here with the tong. Hopefully it doesn't slide down for Lilah to eat. And then I put it on the scale. And that says 242 grams, so I would do here in My Fitness Pal for dinner, is my boneless skinless chicken breast. The serving size is one gram. I change that to 242, and it automatically tells me that's 55.5 grams of protein, 3.2 grams of fat, so on and so forth. Check, that's all set. Okay. What if I were doing multiple chicken breasts? All I do is I just zero this out, and then I just add the other chicken breast, just like I added the first one. Okay. So, just put it on there. 224. Zero it out again. And I can do the same thing with this third one. So it's saying that's 134. So if you are doing a meal for bunch of you know if you're doing meal prep for a bunch of different meals or for a family or something like that that can be a good way to just do things all at once. Another important point here guys that I want to make is when you are measuring food specifically protein but also vegetables you want to weigh and measure them raw. That is what the macronutrients values will be listed for on the back of your food, that's what you find in My Fitness Pal. It's going to shrink after you cook it, so you want to weigh and measure it raw. Okay. I'm going to pop this right here, in this oven. Right there I guess. Okay. So that is, the protein. So this is going to be my protein basically for the day. Now let's talk about produce. So. Got another sheet pan here ready. And what we're going to do is the following. So you'll see over here, I've chopped up basically all my veggies for the day. My starch is in the former Japanese sweet potatoes, my kale, my red cabbage. And what I'm going to do now is I'm going to saute this kale. So I've got my stove top preheated here. I'm going to put the kale on the sheet pan, and it's telling me that it's 150 grams, so all I would do here is I would go to my kale and it's one gram measurement and I would change that to 150. And I'm good to go. Do you need to weigh and measure your kale? Not really. Do you really need to weigh and measure anything? No, not really. From a health prospective, you can be perfectly healthy without weighing and measuring anything. But for performance, aesthetics, for certain things in health, like the among of fiber you're having per day, or the amount of sugar, it can be useful. But just to have consistency with weighing and measuring everything I like to just do that. Now, what I'm going to do here is I'm not actually going to weigh the fat of course, but I am going to measure it. I'm going to put a tablespoon of oil into this tablespoon right here. I'm going to drop it into the pan. You can do this with ghee. You can do it with coconut oil. You can do it with whatever it is you'd like to do. And then I'm just going to take this parchment paper toss it in here and that's going to start sauteing. And I'm going to put a couple of scoops in here of some salt. Oh, Lilah you like the Kale? Yeah? Lilah likes to hang around and wait for someone to drop them so she can eat them. Alright. So while that's heating up, I'm going to show you guys the next thing. So the next thing is gong to be my starch for the day. So, in this case, I'm gonna use Japanese sweet potatoes. So I'm gonna to zero my scale out. I'm gonna put one set over there other set over here. Okay. So, that's roughly you know, it's saying 376, so that's, you know, basically a little over one eighty per. So what I do here this is kinda a useful thing I do to just make it so I know, ya know, the rough amount for each portion. You take one tablespoon of oil, for this breakfast portion here, drop it right over that. Do another one for this right here. And then get your salt amounts. You don't have to weigh and measure your salt. I actually do. Not because I am trying to get too little, but because I wanna make sure I get an adequate amount. Salt is very important for overall health, performance, and electrolytes, and a whole bunch of other things. And then, I just mix it up over here. Mix it up over there. And I'm good to go. So what I'm going to do here. Just get a paper towel for my hands real quick. And I'm going to make sure I've got Lilah in check. And then just going to put this in the oven like so. And that's good to go. So, one other one I wanted to show you is. What would you do if you had two vegetables on the same sheet pan? How would you do that? So, I'm just gonna grab this other sheet pan over here. And then and zero it out. I put this set of Japanese sweet potatoes on, I put that set and that's telling me about 212, so that's kinda my dinner amount for the carbs. And then for dinner, I could just go in here, and you know, enter 212 right in there. And then that's telling me that it's 44 grams of carbs for those sweet potatoes. And then, I zero it out again. And. Put this on here. And you can come around and see that this is saying about 323. And again all I do with that is I would just put that in right here in my My Fitness Pal. Okay. So in that case it's 100 grams of, I'm just doing three point two three, but it's the same exact thing. Now for this, since I've got two sets of vegetables I just put two tablespoons of oil. So one tablespoon. Two tablespoons. Put the amount of salt I would typically put on two different vegetables. And then just toss it all up. So it's ready to go. So you don't have ta individualize it like I did the other set of sweet potatoes. You can make it where you're doing bulk vegetables for a number of different people. If you were doing this in a saute pan, you can just drop this into the saute pan. If you were doing it in an Instapot, you can drop it into an Instapot. You don't need to use a sheet pan and parchment paper. But that happens to be what I use for a lot of this stuff. Just because it tends to be easy. Okay. I'm just going to throw that in there. So as you can probably tell this is not all for one meal. This is just me prepping meals basically for the day, so that I'm ready to go. Last thing I'm going to show you guys is how to do this with your fruit. Okay. For this, I'm just going to use a bowl. I'm gonna put the bowl on top of the scale. And. I typically have about 125 grams of blueberries. When I have blueberries. So, all I do here is, you could use your hands, I just like to kinda slide it in there like so. And you can just see that the scale is goin' up as I'm doing it. And then right as I get to right around 125. It's a little bit higher. So all I just do is I just take a couple out. And basically around 125. So. Hopefully that gives you a good sense of how to weigh and measure stuff. Now again, you do not need to do this for health, but a lot of people are getting interested because they want to optimize their performance, or the aesthetics, and there are certain things for health, like your fiber consumption, or your sugar consumption, or your protein amount that can be useful to optimize your health. But you don't, strictly speaking, need to do it for health. But hopefully now, you guys have a good sense of how to weigh and measure things. Thanks so much for tuning in. And we'll see you guys next time.